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How can technology help small businesses save money and drive growth

Every small business owner starts their venture focusing on growth. Today’s technology can help drive substantial growth. These tailored SME solutions can also save money for the businesses.

Reach for the cloud

There are many technological advances that small businesses can be thankful for. By far the biggest is the cloud. For SMEs, solutions that operate from the cloud (such as Software-as-a-Service) are more affordable and accessible than the more traditional on premises systems.

But more importantly, this revolutionary system enables businesses to manage operations from anywhere, on any device and at any time.

When it comes to cloud solution, SMEs don’t need to look towards costly enterprise solutions offered by the likes of IBM or SAP.

Solutions such as Office 365 are suited for small businesses. They are affordable and you have the flexibility of activating licenses as and when needed. Instead of buying an enterprise model with a high licence fee for each computer, subscribing to it on a SaaS model can cost as little as $7.20 per month per user.

Other solutions like Business Backup Suite offers enterprise-grade security and data redundancy by backing up your files in the cloud. Rather than pay for expensive, localised backup solutions such as Tape backup or disk arrays that may cost thousands in initial cost, offering this service at a smaller scale, and on a monthly subscription model, makes it more affordable.

Connect employees easily and efficiently

Often a lack of space or telecommuting nature of the workforce means SME employees aren’t working under the same roof. This doesn’t mean employees can’t be productive or connected. This connectivity isn’t expensive either.

ONEOffice offers a cost-effective collaboration solution for SMEs. Being able to access and share files remotely increases productivity, allowing teams to distribute and see the latest information. Both solutions are easy to implement and makes it easy for employees to collaborate – wherever they’re working from.

Automation of tedious processes

Many small business owners may consider automation an expensive process. The truth is there are solutions available specifically designed for the SME budget. They are easy to set up, run seamlessly online and don’t require a huge spend to get started. With a small investment you can free up your time and focus on growing your business.

Essentials Workflow for example is great for submitting, managing and approving staff leave or claims with just a few clicks anytime, anywhere and automatically.

With digital payroll tools such as Essentials Payslip you can forget printing or writing staff payslips manually. Instead you can issue itemised payslips within clicks and email them to staff.

Essentials Invoices is an online application that will help businesses create, send and log endorsed quotations within a single system.

These solutions only cost a small monthly fee, or even free for certain small volume usage. Compare that to Oracle’s enterprise E-Business applications where licensing the applications you need can cost up to US$5,000 a month.

Enhance the power of data

Just because it’s often referred to as ‘big data’ doesn’t mean it’s only available for larger scale enterprises. SMEs can make decisions based on insights gleaned from their smaller data pools.

One area where reliable is data is crucial is customer relationship management (CRM). To promote growth, SMEs must have a system for managing client interactions, dealing with current and potential clients and optimising relationships.

SimplyCast eMarketing can be useful for tracking client profiles and behaviours, and automating email marketing. You can make smarter marketing decisions by sending out tailored emails to reduce the time between a subscriber signing up for your email and making their first purchase. Having an effective CRM helps you to determine how much time and money you should invest in each type of customer.

Technology advances aren’t just for big business, there are plenty of tailored products designed for SMEs.

Find a cloud service that suits your needs and scope

Easily connect your employees so they can work and collaborate online

Discover cheap automation tools that free up your time

See how data can guide your decision making process

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About Singtel myBusiness

Singtel myBusiness is the largest one-stop portal and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) marketplace for Small and Medium Enterprises in Singapore. It focuses on simplifying SME's ICT adoption journey, facilitating online collaboration and helps to deliver business advantages through SaaS productivity solutions, business and technology insights, aggregating opportunities for SMEs to find business tenders, and exclusive deals on office equipment supplies and services.